NEW DELHI — A day after the last batch of the US troops on ground in Afghanistan left the war-torn country, India’s ambassador to Qatar held talks with a top Taliban leader on Tuesday.
The Indian foreign ministry said this was the first formal diplomatic engagement between the two sides since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15.
The envoy, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s Political Office in Doha, the Indian foreign ministry said.
The foreign ministry said the two sides discussed the safety of Indians left behind in Afghanistan.
According to the foreign ministry, Mittal also conveyed India’s fears that militants could use Afghanistan’s soil to mount attacks against India.
“The Taliban representative assured the ambassador that these issues would be positively addressed,” the foreign ministry said.
There was no immediate comment from the Taliban on the talks with the Indians.
India invested more than $3 billion in Afghanistan, mostly in projects aimed at destabilizing neighbouring Pakistan, and built close ties with the US-backed Kabul government.
With the Taliban takeover of Kabul, the Indian government was facing criticism at home for investing mindlessly in Afghanistan at America’s behest and for not opening a channel of communication to the group. At the same time, Indian media have been busy in a virulent propaganda against the Taliban.
